The Northern Fairy arrives as the Sea turns red
by HodrichMaid
Summary: This is the first installment of my brand new 'Marguerite van Rijn Presents' series inspired by the Gosick anime and manga. Escaping from the war in Belgium on board a luxury ocean liner, the young Marguerite gets tangled in a murder investigation which later turns into a struggle for survival. WARNING: Characters might be OOC and some gore.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello, dear readers._

 _First, I would like to apologise for my delay in updating my previous stories, but the reason is that I stopped having ideas for them, so from now on I am going to post only single chapter stories or with only two or three chapters._

 _I know I have written like TEN THOUSAND versions of this, but I promise this will be the final._

 _Belgium, France and a fictional country of my invention whose human name is Rémi will be the main characters. As for the rest, I will clarify which of them will be featured in each episode._

 _In this episode we have Switzerland as Vash Zwingli, Liechtenstein as Lilly, Russia as Jean (I read that it was the French 'translation' of his name), Belarus as Natalie (not related), the 2P Nyotalia version of England as Olivia and Monaco as Louise._

 _I want you to know that the characters might be a little if not fully OOC and you might notice that I named some characters with the French version of their names and that is because the story is set in a fictional Francophone country. I trust you won't mind._

 _I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it… over and over and over._

 _Okay, I'm a very indecisive person! Shut up._

* * *

 **Episode 01**

 **Marguerite van Rijn Presents**

 **The Northern Fairy arrives as the Sea turns red**

Marguerite stopped dead in her tracks in front of the mirror hung on the wall by the entrance to the house. She knew she needed to move, that they didn't have much time and she couldn't stand around losing precious time, but she just wasn't able to move any longer. The memories of the recent days washing over her as if they had been contained inside a dam which was now broken beyond repair. Her father had told them that it was going to be the last time this happened and now she was thinking that it was going to be the last time, effectively, if she didn't move her feet! But she couldn't. She was completely paralyzed.

Marguerite stared deep into her green eyes, for which she had received compliments very often. They were as green as the forest, some even said. Her skin was fair, but with everything that was going on, lately it was not the right word to use to describe it. It wasn't fair, but pale. Sickly pale. Her hair was concealed underneath a wide-brimmed hat, because she hadn't even found strength to move her arms enough to do it, and neither had Cécile, her trustworthy maid and confidante. She had been crying almost all the time, and Marguerite had tried – in vain – to console her. She knew she wasn't well, but she was worried about her future well-being by staying in Belgium.

"Marguerite, dear, we must get going!" her father ran up to her with desperation in his eyes, adjusting his tie. He wasn't a man to lose his composure very easily, but right at that moment, he was sweating but unwilling to take off at least his jacket. He was a proper gentleman. Count van Rijn. A noble title that was well known even in the times of Leopold I. He gently tugged on Marguerite's gloved hand to get her moving, but there was no response from the girl who was, apparently, transfixed by the reflection of herself in the mirror.

She wanted everything to be like it had been before. Before the war had started and later taken her brother away. They hadn't received news from him ever since they left Brussels, two or three weeks ago. She feared for his life, fighting against the krauts. She never thought she would say that word, that disparaging word that now had much more meaning to her than it had before. She missed the times when her mother was alive and she was happy when all she had to worry about was attending school, and when not, busying herself solving cases that the Police couldn't. She knew that all the officers who she had helped hated the way she worked in their field as if she had studied like them when she was just a simple fifteen year old pretty girl, but in the end it worked fine for them because they got the credit for – basically – _her_ job.

Now, those days were over.

* * *

After a couple more minutes of holding her tears in front of the mirror, Marguerite took a deep breath and was able to move to the automobile that was waiting to take her and her father to the port, where she would board a ship to England to escape from all this, and there, yet another ship to Sauville, a neutral country where her late mother's sister lived with her husband and son. But there was one small detail that accompanied all that information that her father had hastily given to her only a couple days ago, when it was obvious that the Belgian Army couldn't hold the German aggression, and its allies still were working on getting there. He would not be coming with her.

She had begged to let her stay, and every time he said no, because he was thinking about her safety. She had said that, if it was safe for him to stay, then it would be safe for her too, because she would be with him. Her reasoning had always been a problem to the Count, who feared that any man would be intimidated by her power of thinking and wouldn't want to marry his beloved daughter. He had told her several times that he didn't want her to end up like a lonely spinster when she was older, but she had brushed it away.

Now, she had no longer a place to call a home, as she had been yanked away from there and was put on a ship to a country she barely knew, to live with a family she hadn't seen in years, and even back then, it had only been a couple of weeks. Her cousin, Rémi. She hadn't seen him since they were both ten, but she had written to him almost every month, and she always got a nice letter back from him. He was a very cute and nice boy according to what her mother had told them before departing for the other world, a week after she had visited her sister in Saubrème, the capital of Sauville, where the Baron and Baroness – her aunt – Bilodeau had a permanent residence.

From the deck of the ferry, the only thing she could see, was it either by looking among the passengers or towards the port, were crying faces and generalised sorrow. People were leaving their homes and their families behind – in her case – because of a senseless war, venturing to unknown lands whether it was within the borders of the Old Continent or elsewhere. She didn't know how long this war was going to be, or how large in scale and territory, but she hoped it was over soon. She wanted to see her father. She had not yet left him – technically, because he was in the dock and she was on board the ship that was ready to go – and she already missed him.

She couldn't help but shed a tear, as the ship's whistle blew, at the thought of leaving her beloved father, to whom she had grown closer over the past years, bonding over the loss of her mother and their obsessive love of Belgian artisanal chocolate. She chuckled a little as she wiped the single tear carefully with a handkerchief. Oh, how she craved some Neuhaus chocolates.

And some peace. She desperately craved some peace in her life.

* * *

She had plenty of time to think, as she was waiting in the Terminal of Southampton, having already arrived two hours ago. She was sitting next to a cute little blonde girl with wide blue eyes who was playing with a porcelain doll. Marguerite smiled at her talking softly to the doll as if she was alive, and couldn't help but wonder how that little girl's life would be. Where were her parents? Was she English or was she going to travel somewhere? Was she escaping from the war, like she was? She decided to voice her thoughts "Bonjour, my name is Marguerite" she introduced herself with a smile to the little girl, who looked up at her and smiled shyly, her fair cheeks going slightly red as she introduced herself back.

"Nice to meet you, miss, my name is Lilly" she was very cute, and that made Marguerite forget about the horrible world they were both living in, at the moment.

"Where are you from? You don't sound English" she pointed out. She had a strong accent, but because she spoke so softly, Marguerite couldn't tell where country was she from. Or at least, a guess. She noticed she was very shy with people.

"We are from Switzerland. We are going back home" she said with a small smile. They probably are going to disembark in Sauville and then cross the border by train, but who else was she referring to?

"We?" she asked when a young blonde man sat down next to her, looking around the passengers in the Terminal. He was older than her, perhaps in his early to mid-twenties, and they had the same eye colour. He was too young, though, to be the girl's father, so he must be her brother or stepbrother. Just when she was going to ask, she checked her watch and saw that it was time to embark "I have to go, dear. Have a good, safe trip" she said with a smile as she walked away.

She had added the word 'safe', because in this time of war, no one really knew.

* * *

The Reine Elise was the absolute pride of the Royal Sauvillean Line and Marguerite could see why as she was strolling through the deck and lounges of the First Class. This time, she did not see anguished faces and crying relatives, every passengers she had seen in her section of the ship were chatting and having tea like if they were enjoying the time of their lives. It made her quite angry, frankly, because she had to endure leaving her homeland and father behind for the Germans to take and this people couldn't care less about the situation in Europe. Only the men in the smoking room were discussing the war, but of course, to them it was a delight to be able to talk about something more interesting than the average boring politics of their countries.

Who cared if hundreds were dying? Let's all sit down, enjoy a brandy and a smoke and have a merry old chat!

She cursed them in her native French as she walked inside one of the lounges. Immediately, she was drawn to the large painting that was hung over the chimney. It was a beautiful woman with a hint of sadness in her blue eyes. For the clothes she was wearing and heir hairdo, she was from the late 18th Century. She leaned over to get a closer look at the name. It said "Queen Elise of Sauville". Of course, the Reine Elise for which this ship had been named after.

"Beautiful painting, isn't it?" a man with a sultry voice asked from behind her. She turned around and saw a very attractive man with wavy golden hair and a little stubble. He had a beautiful white suit with a pink tie, and was moving a glass of wine between his slender fingers while looking up at the painting. Marguerite, realising that she had not given the man an answer, nodded "Queen Elise was Regent of Sauville during the dark years of the Napoleonic Wars" Marguerite almost sighed. Again with wars "She is said to have ordered that all the gold of the National Treasury of Sauville be hidden before the French arrived in 1793. She died abruptly while she was still in exile and nobody ever knew where the gold went. The Gold of Queen Elise is one of the greatest mysteries of Sauville" he ended with a small sip of his wine.

Well, that story was a little more interesting than she thought it would be. She stuck out her hand, as any girl, with her palm facing downwards "Marguerite van Rijn. Enchantée" she said with a small smile on her face. The man looked at her in the eye before leaving the carved crystal glass on top of the chimney and kissing her palm gently, without taking his piercing blue eyes off her. She was feeling a little flushed.

"Enchanté, mademoiselle" he was very flirty, he was going to make Marguerite blush, and she didn't want to look like a dumb little girl swooning over a handsome older man "Francis Bonnefoy, proud member of Her Majesty's police force in Saubrème. At your service" he made a small bow of courtesy. She stifled a giggle.

"You are a police officer?" she asked, not very much believing this dapper and flirty young man was a tough officer of the streets, enforcing the law with his very fancy clothes. She was quite amused at such idea.

"Oh, heavens, no! God prevent this lovely ensemble from getting dirty in the streets!" he voiced her concern with a dramatic tone, putting his hand over his forehead. She couldn't help but giggle a little and he giggled with her "I'm an inspector" he said seriously, but still keeping the smile that suited him so well.

"Inspector?" she asked with a smirk "Well, that could come in handy"

"I think _you_ could come in handy" he said with an equal smirk. Marguerite's expression changed. How dare he insinuate that she would – "Oh, don't get me wrong, mademoiselle. I'm saying because, between us, I know your 'business' with the police" he seemed to catch what her new expression meant right away.

"Well, then" she relaxed a little more "I see my reputation as a mastermind proceeds me"

Francis hummed and lifted his wine glass to her slightly "Santé"

* * *

The young maid put the silver tray with a jar of water and a glass down on the small table in the centre of the fancy stateroom. She was about to leave when she heard a loud noise coming from the closet. Curious as to what had caused said noise, she closed the door to the corridor and opened the closet, where he found that an evening dress had fallen with the hanger on top of a trunk.

She tried to retrieve it, but the only way was to move said trunk. She grabbed the handles and pulled it towards her slightly, but it fell loudly on the floor and opened. What she saw falling out of the trunk made her scream like she had never.

The corpse of a little blonde girl.

* * *

The Master at Arms had requested the presence of Inspector Bonnefoy at the scene, and the inspector had done the same with Marguerite. The other ship's officers were at a loss of words when they saw how young the inspector's 'assistant' was, and they didn't know her purpose for being there. Either way, he had received the news of a murder on board, but when he touched the 'corpse' was not cold, and when the felt her pulse "Well, what a miracle" he said, looking out the corner of his eye at the Master at Arms "The girl is alive. Just unconscious" he stood up.

The Master at Arms, in turn, looked at his own assistant, who was mortified "Forgive me, inspector. It was this _idiot_ that informed me wrong" he said, glaring at the poor man next to him. From her place at the door, Marguerite walked forward and, in the middle of the stateroom floor was the little blonde girl who had been playing with the doll at Southampton.

"I know this girl. Have they located her brother, yet?" she asked the Master at Arms. Francis turned around and looked at him, too.

"He is being brought down here as we speak" he said.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the lounge, a woman left the table where a young man was sitting. Walking away from his table, she directed to him a smirk and left to take the air in the deck as two officers entered in turn, they had already looked in the other lounges. The young man downed his drink, quickly.

"Could you come with us, please?" one of the officers asked and the young man looked up, his throat closing, but he was ready to accept his fate. He looked up.

"Certainly" another man said. He turned around and saw a blonde young man with green eyes and a grey stripped suit getting up and following the officers out of the lounge. He was confused. If they had found his sister, why didn't they come to take him? He undid his tie and inhaled deeply. His chest was still feeling quite tight.

In the stateroom, everybody was waiting in silence while the girl was being treated by a doctor in the bed. She wasn't waking up, and according to the doctor, she was under the effect of some powerful drug. He was worried because he didn't know the dose in which it had been administrated to her and if it was the right one for her age and weight. If she had suffered an overdose, she could easily slip into a coma. Marguerite's stomach clenched upon that possibility for such a young girl.

"Monsieur, here is Vash Zwingli" one of the officers of the lounge said as he stepped in bringing with him and another officer, a young blonde man, but he wasn't the one that was sitting with the girl. Marguerite was confused, but she decided to observe the scene in silence. Perhaps they were related, too. Who knew?

"Excuse me, what is this?" the man – Vash Zwingli – asked upon seeing so many people in a stateroom that wasn't his, and with an unconscious child on the bed "My name is Vash Zwingli, but this is not my cabin. Mine is B-52" he said, trying to reach for his ticket inside his pocket.

"You are saying that you never saw this girl in your life?" Francis asked, approaching the confused passenger and pointing at the girl. He shook his head vehemently and Francis approached the Master at Arms with an air of secrecy around him, whispering "Monsieur Capitaine, excuse me but I believe that you are surrounded by idiots" said man was surprise by the suddenness of that statement. Francis exclaimed out loud with an air of drama that Marguerite knew – now – that characterized him "This young men might say to the Master at Arms that he is wearing the most lavish of robes, when he is completely naked!"

Marguerite stepped forward, she would have laughed at Inspector Bonnefoy's outburst if it wouldn't have been for the situation "This is not the girl's brother. I will show you who he is even if I have to turn this ship upside down" she said with an air of determination that had always been her trademark feature according to her father. She walked to the door and motioned for a couple officers and Francis to follow her.

* * *

"Well, that's him" she said with puffed cheeks. She was looking down, along with the Master at Arms and Inspector Bonnefoy, to the dead body that had been found in the lounge. It was the Vash Zwingli they had been looking for. Several people were crowded in the spacious room, they had to be questioned thoroughly, but most of them had said that he had started to struggle for air and then collapsed on the floor convulsing violently "Now we have to wait until the little girl wakes up"

The doctor looked up from his place, kneeling next to the corpse "According to the symptoms the other passengers described, this man could have been poisoned"

"There is a killer on board!" a woman yelled and the people started to panic.

A young girl with whitish girl had her eyes wide as plates as she ran outside, passing through those curious ones who didn't dare to come inside. She began hyperventilating, grasping the railing until her knuckles turned white "Calm down, Natalie" she breathed out "We are all going to die" her voice changed, revealing a terrified tone. Her eyes narrowed "Not if I kill them first"

She started chuckling, until it developed in a full-on laugh attack as images of blood and gore passed in front of her eyes, from past memories of her childhood and adolescence. A loud thunder startled the passengers on the deck, but not Natalie.

They were approaching a very heavy storm.

* * *

 _I hope you liked the first part of the first episode of this series – I know, it's a lot of 'firsts' – if you do leave me a comment, it would make me really happy._

 _The second part is coming!_

 _Thanks for reading._


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello, again._

 _Welcome to the second and final chapter. I surprised some of you made it this far! I don't know right now (as I'm writing this) but I'm hoping that the first chapter had some sort of success among you, dear readers._

 _Anyways, I leave you with the conclusion of 'The Northern Fairy arrives when the Sea turns red'._

* * *

By dinnertime, the story of the murdered young man in the lounge had reached even the passengers of the lowest class, never mind the stewards and maids. Everybody on board was terrified and there was a crazy rumour going around that it was a German plan to systematically kill every passenger on board, mostly those who held citizenship of neutral countries or members of the Entente. Other said that there was a killer among the personnel. Either way, the passengers were paranoid and, in the First Class dining saloon, the orchestra was trying to distract them by playing soothing or merry music, but everybody was busy talking about the killer and who might he be.

"I'm worried about this" Marguerite told Francis as the steward who had served them the caviar left the table to attend others. A nurse had been left in charge of the little girl in the stateroom, with explicit orders to not mention the death of her brother to her, and the Master at Arms had told Francis to get some rest after having gone through possible theories all day "We might have some collective paranoia case going on. I hope nothing triggers a massive hysteric reaction"

On another table across the room from Marguerite and the inspector, Natalie was sitting and twisting her napkin between her small gloved hands, the avid conversation among the other passengers about the murderer was adding fuel to her fire. A steward approached the table and showed one of the commensals a bottle of wine "Is it Rîma-Ville, 1890?" he asked, referring to the expensive Sauvillean wine par excellence.

"Yes, monsieur. Would you like to try it before I serve it?" the steward asked the man, who nodded as the dark-coloured drink was being poured in the carved crystal glass in front of him.

Upstairs, in the boat deck, the officers were having dinner as well, but they were wary of the behaviour of the sea during the storm they were currently crossing. They, unlike the passengers, were not as concerned about the murderer, because that was the job of the Master at Arms and the Sauvillean inspector on board "I heard that he brought a girl to the crime scene" one of the officers said to the group in the table.

"What would a girl be doing there?" another one asked, amused. Second Officer Jean Braginski got up from the table and excused himself, when he closed the door, everybody spoke in whispers "He's been really weird since the news of the murder"

Jean walked down the stairs, completely soaked in rainwater and with his hands in his pockets as he whistled a merry tune. He wasn't thinking clearly. The only thing in his mind was that he had to stop whoever was the murder, and he knew that it was someone among the crew. Who else would poison a drink? He wanted justice and nether the Master at Arms, nor the Sauvillean detective were doing it.

The ship banked when a tall wave hit the starboard side, so he just grabbed a tight hold of the railing as he continued to walk.

Inside the First Class dining room, a woman sitting next to Natalie noticed the way she was shaking, with eyes wide as plates like before, as she was watching across the table at the man who was about to try the wine the steward had served him. She put her hand on the girl's shoulder "Are you okay, ma chérie?"

Suddenly, and right after he had put the glass down, the man started coughing "He is trying to poison us with the wine!" Natalie screamed and jumped over the table, knocking over china and glasses as she stabbed the steward repeatedly in the chest, causing a panic among the people in the table. The women ran away, crashing against other tables and people. When mostly everybody in that area had noticed what Natalie was doing, her face and impeccable white silk dress spattered with blood of the steward who was laying on the floor, dead, they began to scream and dash for the exit.

Marguerite got up from her seat as she saw the commotion "What is going on?" she asked out loud as Francis got up as well, motioning for her to stay at her spot.

"Let me go!" Natalie screamed at the top of her lungs as several men tried to restrain her when Francis arrived. He was shocked and he just hoped that Marguerite wouldn't be right in what she had said before.

Below the waterline, the body of a young officer slid down the wall and onto the floor, leaving a long trail of blood as Second Mate Braginski pulled out the sword he had 'borrowed' from the panoply that decorated the First Class smoking room. He turned around and pulled down the lever on the wall effectively switching off the electricity all throughout the ship.

The darkness added to the panic of the passengers, who didn't know where they were running to. Natalie took advantage of the momentary confusion and the sudden inclination of the ship after the impact of another wave to stab the men who were holding her. She escaped through the exit she had memorized before the lights had gone out "Mademoiselle van Rijn!" Francis yelled out, trying to call Marguerite, but his voice merged with the screams of the other passengers.

Above in the officer's room, they were looking for a lamp or even a candle before one of them went downstairs to check on what had happened. Suddenly, a gush of wind opened the door to the deck and a lightning illuminated the tall and broad form of Jean Braginski, with a twisted smile in his blood-spattered face, soaking wet and holding a sword.

"Inspector! Where are you?" Marguerite said, once the dining saloon became quiet. The screams of other passengers and the sounds of the storm outside heard in the background as she walked over knocked chairs and upturned tables to find Monsieur Bonnefoy. She then remembered something. The little girl! She was all alone with a nurse in her stateroom. She must find her.

Suddenly, she felt someone grabbing her wrist and she turned around with a battle cry as she threw herself against her unknown assailant, hitting them in the head and the face until her other wrist was grabbed and she was effectively restrained. For a second, she feared for her life until she heard "Mon Dieu, mademoiselle van Rijn! You can really hit hard!" Francis complained, rubbing his sore spots "We must find–"

"The girl" she said. In the darkness, he rolled his eyes as he walked in front of Marguerite, leading her by the hand towards the exit. He felt she separated from him and turned around, even though he couldn't see anything "I can take care of myself, thank you very much" she said with pride in her voice as she walked, now in front of him, guided by her memory of the room.

Outside in the wet decks, passengers fell and slipped, or fell overboard as the waves of the rough sea crashed against the ship. Some terrified officers began to prepare to launch the lifeboats, but in the darkness of the moonless stormy night, they couldn't see if those getting on board were only women and children. They didn't care that the engines were still running as they began lowering some. The purser immediately walked to the boat deck "Stop! We mustn't launch them! We have no order to–"he was interrupted by the screams of the passengers inside a lifeboat which had crashed against the propellers, causing the entire ship to rock.

The shattered propeller blades penetrated the ship's hull, just below the waterline, which started filling with water immediately. The firemen in the rapidly flooding boiler room were trapped in the obscure labyrinth that was the bowels of the ship, where they drowned while trying to look for an exit. The flooding of the lower decks would have been prevented by the modern system of watertight doors, but in the bridge, all men had been slaughtered by Second Officer Braginski, who was now turning his attention towards the passengers.

* * *

"Do you remember the way to the stateroom?" Marguerite asked the inspector as they passed a group of people in absolute darkness, careful not to bump into any of them. Nobody could see anything, so anyone out there could be the killer.

"I think so" he said, but then turned around as he kept walking, trying to feel with his hands what was in front of him "But there is a possibility that they might have left the room and are lost in the crowd" Marguerite had thought it might be a possibility, but they needed to make sure by checking there, first. The stateroom was located in the lowest deck belonging to First Class, so from where they were at the moment it was a long three decks that they had to cross in order to get there.

Suddenly, they ran into a wall. A wall that was not supposed to be there "Where are we?" Marguerite asked. They could no longer hear a sound other than the screams from afar, perhaps in the boat deck. The inspector tried to feel around and they started to hear soft footsteps nearby, followed by a sound of something scratching the floor, as if it was being dragged by this person, who was obviously a woman because of the sound of her heels against the wooden floor.

"When will you pay me? Says the bells of Old Bailey" the woman said. Marguerite frowned, trying to remember where she had heard that particular phrase before. It sounded very familiar, yet it was not something someone would say on a regular basis or even on a normal conversation. Francis, as well, was standing still listening to the slowly approaching footsteps "When I grow rich, says the bells of Shoreditch"

Oh, no.

"Come" Marguerite said as she took Francis' hand and lead him into a room whose door she had felt when they arrived at the dead end. She closed the door very slowly, as to not make any sound. She turned around then, in the direction she assumed Francis was standing "That woman was reciting the 'Orange and Lemons' nursery rhyme" she said in a hushed voice.

"So?" Francis was confused. Marguerite sighed. She remembered the second verse she had said, because when her British governess, Miss Fowley, had made her learn it, she had had a very hard time to pronounce 'Shoreditch'.

"The final verse says 'Here comes a chopper to chop off your head'!" Marguerite said in the same tone of voice "And I'm sure that woman was dragging something. Didn't you hear it, too?" she asked before going over to the door and putting her ear next to it. She stopped hearing the sounds of her walking "We can go now"

"Wait. Let me find something to illuminate the way" Francis said as he rummaged through the stuff on what appeared to be a desk until he found something cold with an odd shape. A kerosene lamp! He took out his matches and turned on the lamp. Now that he could see the room, they were probably inside an office. Perhaps the purser's office "Let's go"

They cautiously walked out of the door and returned to the staircase to continue their way down. There, they found two dead bodies. The one at the top of the stairs belonged to a man who had been hit on the chest and neck repeatedly with something large and very sharp, it was a gruesome scene. But the one at the bottom was the one that had Marguerite almost throwing up, but she managed to compose herself before the inspector could think she was weak. The other body, at the bottom of the stairs, was that of a woman who had her head completely chopped off. It was a bloodbath. Her baby pink and white lace dress was completely soaked in her own blood and there was a large mark of something sharp against the wall where the body was resting, in a sitting position.

Perhaps, the woman from before was 'the chopper'.

"Don't look at it" the inspector said, covering her sight with his body as he motioned for Marguerite to keep walking forward.

They finally found the stateroom in the sea of doors that was the empty corridor, stained with blood that was barely visible against its burgundy walls. When Francis opened the door and illuminated the dark room, he didn't see anything other than furniture and… a big lump in the bed. He motioned for Marguerite to enter the room after him and she closed the door behind her. Francis sat on the bed and noticed that the lump was trembling. He nodded in its direction to Marguerite, who took the blanket off, revealing the trembling little girl "Ma chérie Lilly, don't worry. We are here to look after you" Marguerite said as she kneeled next to the bed, caressing the girl's soft blonde locks.

Lilly was surprised that she had remembered her name, but fear overtook her "W-Where is my big brother? I want him!" Marguerite contained her urge to flinch, because she couldn't tell this scared little girl in a ship full of dead people, that her brother had been the first victim. Lilly might be young, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that they were not telling her something important about her brother.

"We are going to look for him, but… where is Mademoiselle D'Auber, the nurse who was taking care of you?" Francis asked with concern. He hadn't seen her when they were walking down the stairs or through the corridor.

"I-I don't know. When t-the lights went out, we started hearing screaming from outside and she went to see what was going on. She told me to stay here and not open the door for anyone" she said. She had been scared to death upon hearing all those screams with the lights out, not seeing if anyone entered the room. Francis looked at Marguerite and then at the girl again, getting up from the bed and taking the lantern in his hand.

"We must get going" he said, surprising both Marguerite and Lilly. The little girl didn't want to move in the dark because she was afraid, and Marguerite was quite frankly not feeling safe with that chanting woman in the corridors "We have to get to the lifeboat stations"

When Francis convinced Lilly that everything would be alright if she kept with them, she decided to get off the bed. They were going to leave the room, Francis had the door opened and illuminating the corridor to see if nobody was there, when Marguerite stopped in her tracks, near the door "Wait" they both turned to look at her "The sound of water"

A couple decks below, a torrent of ocean water swept away everything it it's destructive pace, flooding the Third Class staterooms and catching the passengers off guard. Below the waterline, every men who hadn't left their station, had drowned.

Francis got up from the floor, where he had put his ear in order to listen to what she was referring to "We are flooding. We must hurry" he walked out and bumped into a woman, who screamed in fear. Because of that, Marguerite knew she wasn't the killer "Madame, are you alright?"

The woman was visibly shaking as she threw her hair back and out of her face "I-I think so" she said breathlessly. It seemed like she had been scared to death upon bumping into Francis "My n-name is Louise… Louise Grimaldi" she said, knowing that, even in the worst of situations like the one they were experiencing at the moment, she had to be a proper lady.

Francis was surprised. Louise Grimaldi was the most famous Sauvillean gambling entrepreneur and was the sole owner of luxury casinos all over the country and Europe. He even heard she had one in New York City, but he wasn't sure "Enchanté, mademoiselle. My name is Francis Bonnefoy, inspector" he introduced himself nodding his head, instead of kissing her hand and bowing like he had done to Marguerite.

Lilly stepped forward and grabbed the purse that Mademoiselle Grimaldi had dropped upon the sudden shock of finding someone else alive in that dark deck. She felt something sharp pricking her finger but she paid it no mind as she gave it to the woman "You dropped this"

She grabbed it with wide eyes "Thank you, dear" she said before looking up at Francis "Where are you heading?" she asked. She didn't want to continue alone, and they didn't look dangerous. Two young girls and a police inspector.

"To the boat deck" the sound heard by them was only equivalent to that of the pained cry of a large creature as they started to list to starboard "We must hurry. We are going down fast" he ushered the women to walk in the direction they had come, towards the stairs and up three decks to the lifeboat stations.

Marguerite kept the girl by her side, so she wouldn't see the corpse of the woman with the severed head at the foot of the stairs and the other dead bodies. Suddenly, Marguerite's ears perked up as she heard the familiar slow footsteps and metallic dragging sound "When will that be? Says the bells of Stepney" her soft voice rang through her ears, but nobody else seemed to hear it as they kept walking upstairs.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" they heard the voice of a young woman running out of breath as her heels clicked rapidly, and it seemed in circles, over the wooden floor. Francis motioned for them to wait in the middle of the stairs as he climbed all the way up, illuminating the woman surrounded by mutilated bodies. Her black and burgundy gown was covering the blood stains that were visible on her chest and neck "Ah!" she screamed when he saw Francis approaching her.

"Don't worry. I'm a police officer. I-I will help you" he said, approaching slowly to her. She seemed to be in some kind of trance, because she kept repeating 'Oh my God' over and over, as she walked in circled around a couple dead bodies, fisting her light ginger hair tightly, almost ripping it off. Her light blue eyes were wide as plates "What is your name?"

She looked up at him, breathing heavily. She was unsure of what to do, but the man didn't seem at all dangerous and she could see his both hands were empty asides from the kerosene lantern "O-Olivia Kirkland" she breathed out " _Lady_ Olivia Kirkland" an English noblewoman. How dramatic, Francis thought to himself.

"We are going to the boat deck, you need to come with us" he said, but she snapped at him.

"And why would I have to come with you? I don't know you! You could be the killer!" she yelled. For a second, hers and the inspector's voices were the only thing Marguerite could hear asides from the elaborate breathing of the other two women and the rough storm that was rocking the ship from side to side, until she heard a familiar voice, coming from the dark bottom of the stairs.

"I do not know, says the great bell of Bow" Marguerite could feel the twisted, sadistic smile she bore on her voice, before she heard her walking slowly up some stairs, to where they were quite visible thanks to Francis' lamp.

"We need to climb the stairs. Now!" she said, pushing Lilly and Mademoiselle Grimaldi further upstairs, confusing them because they had been too busy hearing the conversation between the inspector and Lady Olivia. They reached them both and she went over to Francis "We need to move" she said, taking the lantern from his hand and walking in front. Francis grabbed the little hand of Lilly and with her other hand, he gently pushed Lady Olivia towards the direction they were walking.

Marguerite kept walking until she stopped hearing those eerie footsteps. They had finally reached the upper deck, but it was full of corpses. He stopped and spoke in Francis' ear, he was keeping Lilly behind him, thankfully. "Cover her eyes" she said as she ventured through the battlefield in the sea.

They went inside one of the lounges that was on their way for the boat deck. Marguerite stopped in the entrance and illuminated the place. They were about to continue walking, until they heard that dreadful voice "Here comes a candle to light you to bed" from somewhere in the dark room, a match was lit and with it, a candle in a table that hadn't been knocked over by the passengers or the storm "And here comes a chopper to chop off your head"

Natalie appeared in the other side of the room, the exit was blocked by the girl in a lavish gown with gloves, spattered with blood, messy hair covering her face and a large and sharp mediaeval axe held in both hands. That damn panoply shouldn't have been put at the passengers' finger tips! Marguerite thought with rage and fear as they were across the room from each other.

Francis stepped in front of the Belgian girl, to protect her. Natalie's face twisted into a sadistic grin in a second as she lifted the axe and was about to charge against them, when she dropped the weapon to the floor, her face expressionless as she felt face down on the floor with a sharp sword buried in her back.

Everybody looked up to see Second Officer Jean Braginski, face and uniform stained with blood, and hair dripping wet from the rain outside, as he yanked the bloody sword from the back of Natalie. He started slowly walking towards them and Marguerite thought back of her father and brother. How, if she didn't do anything, she wouldn't see again ever. She looked down at the terrified girl who was hiding behind her gown. She needed to do something and had no better idea than to throw the kerosene lantern at him. In no time, his body and the surrounding sofas and tapestry were engulfed in flames.

The officer fell to the floor letting out blood-curling screams as he was burned alive. Marguerite grabbed Lilly's hand and made a run to the now-clear exit. Francis did the same, after making sure that Lady Olivia and Mademoiselle Grimaldi were following him.

Just as they were walking outside, to the pouring rain, a large wave crashed on the port side of the ship, causing it to tilt further starboard and for all of them to fall to the wet deck floor. Marguerite saw the dead bodies rolling with the force of the inclination and the deck chairs sliding and falling overboard.

They saw a light approaching them. Lady Olivia got up from the floor and ran towards the railing, looking into the lights. She turned around with a wide smile on her face "It's another ship!"

"Thank God, we are saved" Louise Grimaldi said, putting her hands over her chest.

* * *

The sun was starting to appear and the sky was now clearing up from the terrible storm of the night before. In the deck of the fishing boat that had rescued them, the five survivors saw how the SS Reine Elise luxury ocean liner passed from the Sauvillean registry and was laid to rest in the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Lilly hugged Marguerite around her legs, trying to stifle her sobs. She knew she would never see her brother again. The Belgian girl kneeled down "Don't cry, ma chérie, your big brother would be very proud of you because you were brave enough to survive" she said soothingly.

Lilly smiled weakly.

* * *

Marguerite grasped the railing as she looked at the beautiful Sauvillean coastline with its green trees and old stone buildings. She breathed in the warm air of the Mediterranean as she felt a presence next to her. Francis enjoyed the way the wind blew his golden hair away from his handsome face. He turned to Marguerite "You said before you needed to speak with me about a most urgent matter. What is it, ma chérie?"

"I'll tell you" she said as she motioned for him to follow her.

Once the fishing boat had docked, Francis could see Lady Olivia's face more clearly and was surprised at the striking resemblance she bore with Her Majesty, in spite of some small details like her hair and eye colour, as well as the freckles that covered the Englishwoman's face. He nodded as her as she walked down the gangplank. Lilly was staying behind to disembark with Marguerite, who had a strong grasp on her hand.

When Louise Grimaldi was walking down the ship, she saw the place lined with police officers and she turned around, in the middle of the gangplank, to look at Francis and Marguerite "I recommend you come with us, Mademoiselle Grimaldi"

In the police headquarters, where they had kindly ceded Francis an office to use for his interrogation, Louise Grimaldi was looking quite pissed as she twisted her gloves in her hands. She had been through hell on a boat and now they were accusing her of… "What are you accusing me of?" she asked, defiantly.

Marguerite got up from her seat "You were startled when Inspector Bonnefoy bumped into you, so you dropped your purse and stepped over it, causing a cracking sound. Later on, Lilly picked it up and told me that she had pricked her finer with something sharp inside. If you look into her purse, you will clearly see a small broken glass bottle, which was used to contain the poison" she said, taking the purse from Louise's hands and handing it over to the inspector.

He rummaged through it until he found it "Here it is"

"That doesn't prove anything!" she said defensively.

"If we examine the glass, we will certainly have a sample of the poison you used against Vash Zwingli. Also, I have strong reasons to believe that he had a large gambling debt with you, but not with your regular luxury casinos. Your _clandestine_ casinos in London" Mademoiselle Grimaldi visibly stiffened upon hearing that "What leads me to think that the debt was so large that Monsieur Zwingli had to fake his sister's death according with the reports from London that had just arrived, in which they detail the death of a young Swiss girl named Lilly Zwingli" she put the report in front of the suspect. She didn't even look at them "But when he knew that you were going to be on board, a couple days before, he was forced to drug his little sister and buy a ticket for himself only. When you saw him in the lounge, you just got your revenge and killed him. Your contacts in London betrayed you when they knew you were under arrest here" she turned around to face the woman "You must be wary of who to trust"

Mademoiselle Grimaldi knew it was over, so she might as well leave with the inspector for her trial in Saubrème.

* * *

Francis was accompanying Marguerite as she came out of the police station. She sighed in relief as the case was finally over, and Francis did the same, knowing that he now had a very trustworthy ally on his side "Marguerite!" she heard a soft voice calling for her. She turned aside and saw a cute blonde boy waving at her from the corner of the block. Rémi! He ran over to her and gave her a big hug. Francis smiled "Oh, my dear cousin" he said as he separated from her.

"Inspector, this is my cousin Rémi Bilodeau" she said, introducing the boy. The flirty blonde man took Rémi's smaller hand and kissed it, much like he had done with her.

"I see that beauty is a family thing, then" he said with his sultry voice. Marguerite was a little taken aback by this, but then shrugged as she said goodbye to Francis and walked together with her cousin to the automobile that was waiting for them with the Baroness, to take them to the train station.

"It's a good thing I didn't swoon over him, then" she said and laughed as she saw how red Rémi's face was after that.

* * *

 _Well, I hope you liked it as much as I did. This will be the final version of this episode._

 _Thank you for staying until the end. If you left a comment, it would make me really happy._


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